Scottish Ghost Stories

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People exploring this beautiful landscape often report seeing re-enchantments of the killing or hearing screaming in the glens. 5. Eilean Donan Castle But they too refused to remain underwater because of the huge eels that attempted to foul their airlines and wrap themselves around them. They are said to have warned the husband that they had never seen such terrifying creatures and that to dive amongst them was suicide! There is confusion as what happened next. Either John challenged his detractor to a duel or else his accuser simply shot him in cold blood. It stands close to the spot where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in 1745, an act that signalled the start of the Jacobite uprising.

When the great seal of Scotland, that most precious emblem of Scottish Sovereignty, was presented to Edward, he cast it contemptuously aside, observing facetiously that "a man does good business when he rids himself of a turd." It was here that a dramatic manifestation occurred in the late 1990’s, when a lady who had brought her two young sons on a visit, was startled by the sudden appearance of a knight in armour whom, she claimed, chased her angrily from the tower. The distraught child revealed that she had lost her doll and felt very lonely and unhappy as a result. Moved by her plight, the television crew bought her a doll and left it in the room.It is said that shortly after claiming the vaults, members of the coven set about searching for a room in which to stage their various rituals. After settling into a room and doing whatever witches do (possibly cursing Shakespeare), the group left for the night. What it isn’t so eager to dispose of, however, is the fact that Dryburgh Abbey Hotel is one of the most haunted hotels in Scotland, with much-unexplained activity and countless paranormal sightings. So it was that the Scottish nobles turned to Edward 1st of England and asked him to mediate in the contest.

Sir John Dalrymple, Secretary of State for Scotland, seized the opportunity to make an example of the Macdonald’s by "rooting out that damnable sect, the worst in all the Highlands." Even today a journey through these murky chasms is not for the faint of heart, and the tales of ghosts and sinister happenings, of which there are plenty, can elicit cold shivers, even on the brightest summers day.

Fingal's Cave

Recognising her as a fairy, and knowing that the Sithichean, or fairy people, could foretell the future, he approached her with due respect, doffed his clogaid and asked if she would be prepared to tell him the outcome of the coming fight. When the Earl stumbled upon his daughter and her forbidden lover in their secret hiding place, he was so infuriated by her perceived betrayal that he pursued his daughter through the castle until she had no place left to run. In a desperate attempt to escape, she climbed out of a castle window and began to lower herself to the ground below.

Hazlerig meted out savage retribution by executing Marion "to deny Wallace of the woman he truly loved." Taking his words literally, the locals stormed the castle, wrapped de Soulis in lead, and plunged him head first into a boiling cauldron. It all began on 25th September, 1663 when Alexander MacDonald, the young Chief of Keppoch and his brother Ranald, were stabbed to death by rivals within their clan. But, observing battle protocol, he sent two Dominican friars to offer a reprieve for all past misdemeanours if Wallace and his comrades would surrender. "Tell your commander that we are here not to make peace but to do battle, to defend ourselves," was Wallace’s contemptuous reply. "Let them come on and we shall prove this in their very beards."Numerous scientific expeditions have failed to provide conclusive proof, one way or the other, for its existence and the numerous photographers who come here in the hope of catching "Nessie" on film have long grown used to her annoying habit of appearing when they are sans camera. It could also be one of the great eels that are known to grow exceptionally large in Loch Ness.

One day his discontented eye fixed upon one wife’s relatives, a young woman named Grizel Leslie. She was more than welcoming of his Lordships advances and, very soon, the two were enjoying a passionate affair. The disembodied head of an old man, with a grey wispy beard and terrible eyes was seen floating around their rooms. It was sometimes accompanied by a severed arm, which seemed intent on shaking Thomas Coltheart’s hand. On 10th September 1297, William Wallace stood upon the lofty heights of Abbey Craig - where Scotland’s national memorial to him now stands - and gazed across the River Forth at the English held stronghold of Stirling Castle. More disturbing is the column of white mist, human in size, that has been known to materialise in mid air and drift briskly towards astonished witnesses. My interest in this book was not to read stories as fiction, but rather to see what people in Scotland believe to have experienced of paranormal events. As a historian, it is also interesting to know what people believe in and what types of lore they have so one can get to know their culture better. This book is not just about the paranormal, but also has some other details and facts added to the stories like description of the places, people or general history.Although they had five children, they were all daughters, and this rankled with the ambitious Seton who longed for a son. Their father, Malcolm, had refused to swear a similar oath in 1291 and had later been killed in a skirmish with the English. This 700-year-old keep, the oldest in Scotland, is home to numerous ghost stories from across the centuries. Learn of the Abbot’s Curse and visit the dungeon where the spectre of a man in chains is helped by a ghostly serving girl who bandages his rat-gnawed foot. Some say that it is an unknown species of fish; others that it is a survivor from pre-historic times, possibly a plesiosaurus.